WASHINGTON, USA — As the United States continues to face challenges from other global powers and tensions continue to rise, the man in charge of much of the American fleet wants to reassure residents we're in good shape.
Four-star Adm. Daryl Caudle is the U.S. Fleet Forces commander. He's in charge of the entire Atlantic fleet of all ballistic submarines, including the Trident subs at Bangor.
Caudle spoke about deterring threats around the globe, the US's world-leading submarine force and sending a message of solidarity with South Korea.
He spoke exclusively with KING 5's Greg Copeland about the state of the U.S. Navy operations based in the Pacific Northwest.
Addressing mental health in the Navy
Mental health continues to be a huge struggle in our country. In the armed forces, it’s worse. One year ago this month three sailors aboard the same US Navy carrier took their own lives in the same week. The tragedy did not sit well with the Caudle.
“To lose a shipmate to suicide is one of the most devastating and horrible things that can ever happen,” Caudle said. “So we take this extremely seriously.”
On a recent all-hands call, Caudle asked sailors how many knew someone within the armed forces that had died by suicide, and most of them raised their hand.
“That to me is unacceptable,” Caudle said.
Caudle said the way they are approaching the idea is by “improving the quality of service” of sailors, which means addressing quality of life and quality of work concerns, which can include things like making sure sailors have parking and are well fed at work, all the way to making sure they have access to mental health resources, family services and quality healthcare.
In this exclusive interview with KING 5, Admiral Caudle goes into depth about how the Navy is approaching the mental health crisis and the way it’s impacting shipmates.